PetSmart Suspends Bird Sales After Infection Scare

[TX_2_Pigs]

Too bad this won't be permanent.

KXAN.com - News, Weather, Sports - Austin, TX | PetSmart Suspends Bird Sales After Infection Scare

[guineapigluver1]

That's too bad its not perminant!

[petz-r-life]

Oh, yeah! At the local petsmart by me, there were 3 dead parakeets in the cage and I went to the store manager, furious, because I have parakeets and know that they're very smart and have great feelings, and he said, Oh, well, they're sick. >.< They make me so mad.

[Wheek Weak]

Originally Posted by petz-r-life

Oh, yeah! At the local petsmart by me, there were 3 dead parakeets in the cage and I went to the store manager, furious, because I have parakeets and know that they're very smart and have great feelings, and he said, Oh, well, they're sick. >.< They make me so mad.

I know what you mean. I demanded 3 finches from a local department store when I lived in West Virginia. They were so sickly and hideous-looking. I got them for half of what they normally charged for them. Luckily, I knew a lady who had had finches most of her life and she took them to raise and take care of.

While I was there, I also had to report to the manager the two dead mice, and one dead gerbil in their small, enclosed, aquarium-type "cages". His attitude was very non-chalant and, pretty much, non-caring.

I suggested that they not sell animals anymore if they could not take care of them the proper way. Unfortunately, I doubt very much that I had much influence on him.

[banjosnotbombs]

I wonder how long these birds were sick before Petsmart decided it was time to stop selling them.
It drives me nuts.. I'm actually scared of going into those because I think I'll bring home some contagious illness and pass it on to my pets. I worked with a woman who had also worked at Petsmart, and she told me the ferrets they ordered kept coming in with an infectious disease.

[Sammy and Peanut]

Oh yeah. At my Petsmart there were flyers all around the store about it. I didn't see any dead ones though. They all seemed fine. As soon as I took my new guinea pig home from Petsmart he was showing signs of URI. And guess what, THAT IS WHAT HE HAD! I am mad at that store.

[Sammy and Peanut]

But the signs came up two weeks later. I don't think it was their fault. The one around me is sooo clean except for the birds.

[Henle15]

I think we now know why they really have suspended bird sales and also hopefully other animal sales..take a look at the following link...very disgusting. PetSmart Cruelty Petco is also involved in this, just to a lesser degree.

[guineapigluver1]

OMG! I actually CRIED!! That is so sickening!

[Sammy and Peanut]

Oh my gosh! I cried and now I feel like I have to throw up. I know someone who is trying to stop them from selling animals. I completely agree with that. Is there anyone else on here trying to stop it too?

[Wheek Weak]

Originally Posted by sammy+peanut

Oh yeah. At my Petsmart there were flyers all around the store about it. I didn't see any dead ones though. They all seemed fine. As soon as I took my new guinea pig home from Petsmart he was showing signs of URI. And guess what, THAT IS WHAT HE HAD! I am mad at that store.

Did you go back to PetStupid to demand that they pay for the vet treatment? If not, you should.

Being pet store merchandise...your guinea pig, most likely, would have had a URI (or other illness) regardless of the bird infection situation. Most of them are sick and/or pregnant when they're bought.

Pet stores do not care about the health of the animals that they sell. They care about the profit margin in the receipts at the end of the day.

[Sammy and Peanut]

Lol. Nice name. PetStupid . No we paid ourselves. Our 14 day garuntee(sp?) was up. Their so called VET-ASSURED is a bunch of crap.

[Sammy and Peanut]

It is so wierd. When I bought Sammy he wasn't sick...

[Sammy and Peanut]

Originally Posted by sammy+peanut

But the signs came up two weeks later. I don't think it was their fault. The one around me is sooo clean except for the birds.

Never mind. Forget what I said about that. I was just trying to think on the bright side, but with PetSmart, there isn't a bright side.

[Sammy and Peanut]

I am writing a letter to our nearby PetSmart and telling them to stop with selling animals! Is anyone else going to do or have already done this?

[mommyoffive]

Mmmmk so i'll let every one know since I work at petsmart:

-First of all when this psittacosis scare came out petsmart didnt even bother to supply us with the right masks until two months into the whole ordeal. They left us with surgical masks and were suppose to be using N-95 of higher approved masks
-In the article it said that "petsmart is not aware of any confirmed cases where employees or customers have come down with the illness." Yah well that because they didnt bother to test any of us for it. A total of 8 people got sick at our store, but you know there was a "cold" going around of course
-The birds were fed an "experimental" (and it said that on the lable too) millet food with a Doxycycline based medication on it. We had to feed it for 45 days and then the birds are still in iso for another 14 days.
-Out of the 100 and something birds we had in our store, only 2 we believe came down with the infection. None of the birds died thankfully.

So i'd just thought I would fill ya'll in! I'm so glad to be getting out of there finally!

[skippysmom80817]

I live in Colorado Springs Colorado and they also suspended sale of birds at our local Petsmart, they shouldn't sell any kind of animals after what i saw on PetSmart Cruelty check it out and look at my post

[Dubinko]

I just now saw the clip from the link. It made me very sick, but it is NOT just these big breeders and big pet stores to blame, it is the government at the state and fed level. There are few laws to prevent this type of abuse and even when there are laws in place they are seldom enforced if ever. The penalties are lax more often then not and seldom utilized to the full. Everyone gets down on breeders, but it is not the bad breeders that are hurt by this, only the small good breeders who feel the heat. The bottom line is small mom and pop pet stores are almost gone because of pet smart and petco. Any hope of staying in the biz is going to these big evil breeders. Large chain shops only care about the bottom line and since these evil big box breeders are the cheapest... Then it comes down to us the consumer, do we buy out pets and pet food, litter and so on from small mom and pop stores who do not buy pets from big evil box breeders? No most of us too go where it is cheapest with out even thinking about it. Myself included. I just came from Petco with toys for our new guinea pigs and treats too, also hamster food for the hamsters. I do NOT shop at walmart AKA Evilmart unless I have to because they run mom and pop store out of biz, they take advantage of their employees and other not so nice stuff. I guess I need to find a good mom and pop pet store here, pay more so as not to support big box breeders who are employed by petco and petsmart via selling them animals. I pay more to buy free range eggs, I can pay more to buy pet food too if pet store is cruel free.

[Sammy and Peanut]

Instead of going to a store that sells animals to get food, why not go to one that doesn't sell animals at all? Yes, PetSmart and PetCo are big chain stores that breed a lot, and yes the small mom and pop stores only breed a little bit, but they are still breeding no matter what. Please take that into consideration. I am not trying to be mean and say that you are wrong, it is just my opinion.

[Dubinko]

I do not know of any pet store that do not sell pets, I will have to look in to it. But I do not think small breeders with few exceptions are the problem. If there where no breeders we would not have the pets we have now. I want to find a good local breeder and I am NOT opposed to buying a pedigreed guinea pig. What I do not want is to support evil breeders like the one who supplies pets to petsmart and petco. There is no way no matter how well run any breeding operation that big can breed animals in a loving none cruel way. They should be out lawed even if it meant we had to pay 4x or 5x as much for your little pets. Ann